State Your Purpose, Please

Many years ago when we lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we decided to cross the border and spend an evening in Canada. At that time you didn't need a passport to cross over, but we were advised that the border patrol on the Canadian side could be a bit--disagreeable.  One of the questions they asked was your purpose in crossing over into Canada.

It seems that, if we just said we wanted to drive around, we were much more likely to be held up crossing the border. The satisfactory answer was to state a specific place that you were going. Have a destination in mind. A purpose in crossing. So we chose a pizza restaurant we had heard about in Sault Saint Marie, and decided to go there.

Sure enough, when we got to the border they asked us where we were going. We named the restaurant, and they let us right through. It was so much easier because we had a purpose in mind.

I think many people struggle in life because they're not sure what their purpose is. Have you ever heard someone ask "Why are we here?"

It's no small wonder, then, that so many people are unhappy. How can you be happy when you don't know what your purpose is?

You might say you have a goal. Perhaps you want to be a doctor. Or a teacher. That's a goal, isn't it? And yet, maybe you're still unhappy. That's because your vocation, no matter how worthy, is not a purpose. It's a goal. You can achieve your goals and still not fulfill your purpose in life.

Did you know that we all have the same purpose? By that I mean we were all created for the same reason. And if you want to know what our purpose is, then you need to check with the Creator. He tells us in His Word what His purpose was in creating us. He tells us in Revelation 4:11--

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.


We were created for God's pleasure. And the bottom line is, if we're not bringing pleasure to Him, we're not fulfilling our purpose. I think many of us, instead of bringing Him pleasure, end up causing God grief and pain. We make selfish choices, or live our lives without trying to follow God's leading. We take no thought of bringing pleasure to the One Who created us in the first place.

So if you're feeling dissatisfied, if you're just not happy with things the way they are, if you feel like you're missing something, step back and take note of your purpose. Are you bringing pleasure to the Creator? Or are you causing Him grief and pain?

How are you fulfilling your purpose?